The picture speaks more than a thousand words. When the two president met in New York, they shook hands lightly and got down to the tasks at hand. They agreed to disagree on the Iranian nuclear accord and Trump’s protectionist policies and one-sided support for Israel, according to two French presidential advisers. The businesslike mood contrasted with Trump’s fawning over Macron at a state dinner in April, and Macron’s lavish Eiffel Tower welcome for the Trumps last year. But the men remained friendly despite the gulf between Macron’s progressive, globalist worldview and Trump’s America-first, zero-sum vision. “Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinate to address global challenges,” the White House said in a post-meeting statement. And Trump offered Macron an unexpected compliment, praising him as the new “hardliner” of Europe for his tough stance on Brexit negotiations, according to the French officials. The officials, who took part in Monday’s meeting but were not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy, described meeting as “cordial.”

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Remember that French steel-making, although now apparently all owned by India entities, which channel their ownership via a corporation in Luxembourg, has been dumping a lot of production into the USA. That is done for political as well as steel-making logistical reasons, to keep the mills operating into a market with limited demand. When Trump imposes steel duties, he shuts those mills out, and that hits French union employment in the hard-hit depressed steel-making towns. And that causes political problems for Macron. 😢

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The officials, who took part in Monday’s meeting but were not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy, described meeting as “cordial.”

"not authorized to be publicly named" according to what or whose presidential policy? I think they mean that they could not be quoted, which means they probably shouldn't be talking anyway or, in my opinion, believed for that matter. Prior to that "And Trump offered Macron an unexpected compliment, praising him as the new “hardliner” of Europe for his tough stance on Brexit negotiations, according to the French officials." Was this confirmed by White House officials? President Trump has publicly praised Britain for sticking to Brexit, so it seems unlikely. Quite frankly, the story is loaded with BS with nobody speaking officially and everybody saying how wonderful they are. I find it interesting that they felt the need to tell everyone that Trump "complimented" anyone. If Trump is persona non grata, then no-one should care one way or the other.